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California consumer confidence at new high

In his State of the Union address, President Donald Trump asked the American people to work together as "one American family." He pledged to bring back trust between citizens and government by making a government that works for the citizens. (Jan. 30)

The Conference Board reported on Tuesday that its consumer confidence index for the state hit a record high for the second straight month. The state index, dating to 2007, shows California consumers’ views on current conditions and their outlook for the future both are at record highs.

This boost in optimism suggests Californians have somewhat warmed up to President Donald Trump’s first year as president as far as economics go. The California index rose at a 14 percent average pace in the past year. Remember, Trump badly lost the state in the 2016 election.

But do not forget this upswing is a continuation of a 12 percent annualized upswing that ran through Barack Obama’s presidency — including seven years with Jerry Brown as California’s governor — as the state and nation emerged from the depths of the Great Recession.

In the past year, new highs were reached in consumer confidence indexes for six of the eight big states tracked by the Conference Board. And the national index showed U.S. consumer confidence for January sits just below a 17-year high hit in November.

Consumer confidence by this math averaged a 20 percent gain in Trump’s first year over the previous 12 months. During Obama’s eight years, confidence across the nation grew at a 10 percent annualized rate.

One key reason for the economic enthusiasm is the bright employment picture. Just 16.4 percent of U.S. shoppers told the Conference Board pollsters jobs were hard to find, just up from a 17-year low hit in December.